Wiccan Expo
by slayer681
Summary: The 5 Charmed sisters decide to have a sisters day and go to the Wiccan expo that's in town. There they meet the Scoobies who are there with a booth for the Magic Box. When demons attack, they have to join together to save the expo.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Phoebe entered the kitchen that morning to find Piper cooking breakfast, as usual, and Paige sitting at the table playing on her tablet. Phoebe made her way to the coffee and poured herself a cup.

"Hey Phoebe," Paige said, "are you up for a little adventure today?" Phoebe responded with a grunting sound. "Is that a yes or a no?"

"It's a don't ask questions until the first cup of coffee of gone." Piper chimed in. Phoebe nodded in agreement. Piper brought over a plate full of pancakes and sat down. Paige set her tablet aside and reached for the pancakes.

"This looks really good, Piper. Thanks for making it." Paige said.

"So what's this little adventure you want to go on?" Phoebe asked after taking the last big gulp of her coffee.

There's a Wiccan convention at the expo center today. I think it could be fun." Paige told the sisters.

"That sounds kind of cheesy." Piper said sipping on her coffee.

"Yeah, I don't know, Paige." Phoebe said. "What's the likelihood that it's going to be real Wiccans, and not a bunch of Goth kids."

"I'm pretty sure it's going to be mostly Wiccans there." Paige said around a mouth full of pancakes.

"Paige, don't talk with your mouth full." Piper pleaded.

Paige swallowed her mouthful of pancakes and said "Look at some of the stuff that's going to be there."She handed Phoebe and Piper her tablet. Piper starts scrolling through the website while Phoebe looked over her shoulder. They saw three of the local stores that the sisters shop at regularly would be there, plus stores from all over that state.

"Look," Phoebe said, pointing to a line on the screen. "The Magic Box from Sunnydale is going to have a booth."

"You could stock up on stuff and save on shipping. What do you say Phoebe? Please. I really want to go, and I don't want to go by myself." Paige was pleading.

"If you two go, how are you going to get there, Phoebe's car is getting fixed, and who's going to watch Payton?" Piper asked.

"Damn. I forgot about your car. Can't you come to Piper? We can take Payton with us and make a day of it." Paige said.

"Take Payton where?" Prue asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"To the Wiccan convention at the expo center." Paige answered.

"You guys should go. I'll be there. The magazine is doing a full write up on it, and how much the Wiccan culture is growing." Prue told them.

"Then it's settled. We'll have a sister day." Paige proclaimed.

"I guess I can put off the paperwork at P3 for a day. You had better go get Payton up." Piper said.

"I'm on it." Paige said jumping out of her seat. She grab Piper and Phoebe in a hug, gave a squeal, and ran out of the room.

Chapter 2

"Xander, please watch where you're going." Giles said in his stuffy British accent. "That trunk is full of very fragile magical items."

Xander turned his attention back to carrying the trunk instead of looking at the girl walking by. "Can't a guy enjoy the view?" he asked, looking back at Giles.

"Xander!" He jumped at the sound of Anya's voice and ran into a table. The trunk went flying from his hands. Everyone gasped and waited for the crashing sound. But it didn't come. Willow had reached out with her magic and caught the trunk mid fall. Xander let out a sigh as the trunk floated the rest of the way to the booth they were setting up for the Magic Box at the San Francisco Wiccan convention.

"Good save sweetie" Tara said softly to Willow.

Willow had been practicing magic for a few years now and she was getting pretty good. Floating things is now as easy as breathing. She's been moving up to bigger spells. Right now she was working on perfecting a spell to conjure balls of daylight to help Buffy fight vampires.

"Xander Harris! Were you looking at that girl's butt?!" Anya asked. She could get very jealous. After all, she did spend a thousand years cursing men that were unfaithful.

"No!" Xander said in a high pitched voice. Anya gave him a look that said she didn't believe him. "Okay, I looked. I like to look. But you're the only one I want." That answer seemed to please her. She smiled and gave him a kiss.

Xander relaxed as she walked over to Willow and Tara and started giving orders in setting up the booth. He was always afraid he was going to mess this relationship up, like he had with Cordelia. Well, not exactly like that, since what messed that up was Cordelia walking in on him and Willow kissing. He was sure that wasn't going to happen again since Willow was gay now. Not that Xander didn't fantasize about what Willow and Tara did behind closed doors.

"No, no, no. You can not put demon bile next to the toad stole!" Anya's voice broke into his thoughts. He couldn't help but smile as Anya tried to take over the whole booth. He was glad that she found something she loved doing.

"Anya," Giles said, "we have a small area in which to put things."

"But it looks tacky!" Anya wined

"As long as we're not putting things together that would cause a reaction, I think we can manage." Gile tried to reason with her.

"Fine." Anya said feeling a little defeated.

"Oh my." Giles said looking at his watch. "I'm going to be late for the session on how to make sure your supplies are good quality. Anya, please try to be nice to potential customers. And Xander, just don't touch anything."

"If they have money to give to me, I'll be nice." Anya told him. She was still pretty new to customer service, but she really liked it when people gave her money. It made her feel like she had a purpose again.

"She's really getting to hang of capitalism, isn't she." Xander said to Giles in a proud way. Giles took off his glasses and starting clean them, as he always did when he was frustrated.

"Don't worry Giles, we have everything under control." Willow said

"That's what I'm afraid of." Giles said under his breath as he started to walk away. He would be happy if the booth was still standing when he returned.

Chapter 3

Payton had not wanted to get out of bed. Paige had thought the eight year old would be excited about doing something that involved magic, but Payton had pulled the covers over her head and told her to go away. After the threat of Paige singing one of Payton's most hated songs, Payton crawled out of bed and got dressed. Paige was worried about her, but Prue and Piper said they thought she was getting ready for another growth spurt. Payton was quiet the whole ride to the expo center. This really had Paige worried.

The five Halliwell sisters walked into the expo center at the main entrance. As soon as they entered Payton's eyes grow wide at the sight of all the different booths. They took a map of the convention and started looking at everything being offered. Somewhere inside they could hear drumming.

"Oh, can we go see the drummers?" Payton asked excitedly.

"That sounds like a great place to start." Prue said. "I should be able to get some good photos there."

The sisters headed toward the stage, Payton almost running. "See," Piper said to Paige. "She just needed to know there was something here for her. And look at all the kid friendly things they have." Piper handed Paige the flyer. "She will love the crafting area." Paige said. As they walked on, Paige's worrying started to subside.

The drummers were amazing. After about a half hour of watching them Prue was sure she had some great pictures of them and the huge group of people dancing. Paige and Phoebe had let themselves get pulled in, and were dancing up a storm.

"Payton come on!" Paige called. Payton shook her head no, terror showing on her face. "You dance all the time at home." Paige came over and Payton ducked behind Piper for protection. "Oh come on, Chicken" Paige said as she grabbed Payton's arm and started to pull her out from behind Piper.

"No!" Payton yelled in fear. This shocked Paige so much that she let go of her.

"Okay, Paige. Enough. She doesn't want to." Piper said.

Paige shook her head and went back to where Phoebe was dancing.

"Didn't want to dance?" Phoebe asked as Paige came back.

"She acted like I was trying to make her pet a troll. This isn't like her."

"We'll all have our bad days. I'm sure it's nothing. Just enjoy yourself."

Prue came over to Piper and Payton. "Everything okay?" she asked. She had seen what had happened with Paige. Payton nodded that everything was fine. Prue looked at Piper to confirm Payton's answer. Piper just shrugged. "Well, I've got enough pictures here, so I'm going to go see what else I can get pictures of."

"Can I come with you?"Payton asked. "Sure, but I thought you were enjoying the show."

"I'm just ready to see something else." Payton answered.

"I'll come too." Piper said. "Phoebe."

Phoebe looked over at her sisters and Piper motioned that they were going. Phoebe gave the thumbs up that she got the message. The three Halliwell sisters walked off, while the over two continued to dance.

"Oh the drumming is starting." Willow said to Tara. "Then we should head over there." Tara replied. "Anya, we're going to the drumming show."

"Good" Anya said "There are too many of you here."

"Oh, will there be dancing?" Xander asked.

"I would image so," Tara said.

Xander gave Anya his puppy dog look.

"Go. Just make sure you come back to me." Anya said stepping closer to him and running her hand over his chest.

"You know you're the only girl for me." He said with a smile. Anya kissed him and as he turned to walk away she smacked his butt. Xander gave a little yip.

Willow shook her head and reached for Tara's hand. Tara moved closer to Willow. She gave her a quick peek on the check. After two years together that still sent flutters through her stomach. Willow had had strong feelings for Oz, but nothing like this connection. Willow was planning on asking Tara to marry her on their next anniversary.

By the time they got to the stage area, people were already dancing.

"This is heaven" Xander said.

Willow pulled Tara into the group, and they began dancing to the primal rhythm on the drums. Willow could feel the power the power the group was producing and let it flow through her. Xander decided to join in and started to make his way to the girls when he tripped and fell into Phoebe and Paige. Xander gave his goofy, embarrassed smile.

Willow made her way to him with Tara following close behind. "I'm sorry this doof fell into you. He has two left feet and they're on backwards." Willow told the sisters.

"It's true." Xander said. They all laughed at his honesty.

It's no big deal." Phoebe said. "It was an accident."

Willow introduced herself, Tara, and Xander to the all began to dance together. After a little bit Paige said "these drummers are really good."

"They're one of the best drumming groups in California." Tara stammered. "At least that's what I've read."

"I believe it." Phoebe said.

"They were in Sunnydale a few months ago. They gave an amazing performance." Willow told them.

"Is that where you're from?" Phoebe asked. Willow nodded. "Cool. Our favorite magic store is from there. Maybe you've been there. The Magic Box?"

Willow laughed at this. "Not only have we been there, we practically live there. A good friend of ours owns it. We came with to help with the booth."

"That is so cool!" Paige excitedly. "So do you know any real witches with powers?" Paige always wanted to meet other witches with powers like gave her sister a look that told her to be quiet. These seemed like nice people, but they had been fooled before by demons looking for the Charmed ones.

Willow looked at Tara, and they both giggled.

"Willow and Tara are both pretty powerful witches." Xander said proudly. "Saved my bacon many a time. Working with the slayer can get pretty dicy."

"Xander!" Willow said hitting him.

"Aww. What?" he replied.

"What happened to our little secret?" Willow asked. "You know the whole no suppose to tell anyone about Buffy or that we actually have magic."

"We are in a giant building, full of witches and I can't talk about magic? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, and I most of those stupid things."


	2. Chapter 2

"So, you're real witches with real powers?" Paige asked

"No!" Willow answered as Xander answered with a yes.

"That's so cool," Paige said. "So are we."

"Paige, can I talked to you for a minute? Over here." Phoebe said pulling Paige aside. "What are you doing? You can't tell them who we are! What if they are demons or warlocks trying to get close to us?"

"I get a good vibe from them. I mean, they work at the Magic Box, for God sakes." Paige answered Phoebe. Phoebe gave her a look. "Fine. If you don't believe me, believe your power. When Xander fell into us did you have a premonition about them?"

"No. If I had we would have left." Phoebe said.

"Then there's your answer." Paige said matter-a-factly.

"Paige, it doesn't always work that way."

"Phoebe just trust me on this, please." Paige begged

Phoebe took a deep breath and thought about it. Paige had a point. If they were demons and after them she would've had a premonition. She know Paige longed for someone outside of the family to talk to about magic, that could understand the things she was going through. "Alright. I trust you." Phoebe finally said. She put her arm around Paige and they walked back over to the others.

"Everything okay?" Xander asked as the girls walked back over to them.

"Yeah. My sister is just overprotective." Paige said. "So do guys fight demons?"

Willow didn't really know if she should answer that question. Tara could see that Willow was torn. She gives Willow's hand a squeeze to let her know it was okay.

"Mostly vampires, but there have been demons." Willow said.

"So, you have powers?" Tara asked in her shy way.

"We do. Phoebe premonitions." Paige said

"Paige," Phoebe said in a warning ton.

"And I can move things." Paige said. She looked around and saw a cup sitting on a table. She held her hand out and said "cup". Everyone watched as blue lights sparkled over her hand and the cup appeared. "See".

"That is awesome!" Xander said. "Will, show her what you can do."

WIllow looked at Tara and she gave Willow a small nod. Willow stared at the cup in Paige's hand. Slowly it began to float over to her. Once it was over her hand, there was a small flash of fire and the cup gone.

"Wow! You can move things and conjure fire! We only have one power each, except for our baby sister." Paige said.

The drummers stopped drumming. They thanked the crowd and received cheers. The MC came on stage and announced that the speaker on meditation would start in an hour.

"We should go check on Anya," Willow said. "Want to come with?"

"Sure" Paige said.

"Paige, we should probably go find Prue, Piper and Payton." Phoebe told her.

"Just text them and tell them to meet us over there. It's one of the booths they wanted to go to anyway." Paige said. Phoebe gave a nod and pulled out her phone. She sent Prue a text while the group headed off to the Magic Box booth.

Down in the underworld demons of all kinds were fighting for the power to take over the Source's thrown. Britteny, a sorcerer, was making her own plans. She had decided that she would make the Charmed Ones give her their powers she told her faithful underling Drax.

"But, my queen," Drax started. He know Britteny did not like to be questioned. She gave him a warning looking as he continued. "Many have tried to get them to give up their powers and have been vanquished. Even the mighty Source couldn't achieve it. There must be some other way to take the thrown."

"Do you doubt my powers?" Britteny yelled.

"Not at all, my queen." Draw said timidly.

"See, where the others went wrong was allowing the witches to fight at the manor. They are the strongest there. We are going to trap them at that gathering and take everyone prisoner. The only way they will be able to save them will be to hand over their powers."

"And if they don't, my queen?" Drax asked backing away.

"Well, if saving all those innocent people is not enough to influence them, then I have a contingency plan that will leave them no choice. Now go! Gather the others while I finish mixing the potion that will trap the Charmed Ones."


	3. Chapter 3

Prue decided to head over to the area set up for the crafters. This area was set up for people to give demonstrations on how to make all sorts of things. Piper and Payton followed after her.

As they walked Drax followed behind. He had been watching from the dance floor. Drax had been given directions to come in contact with Payton. Britteny had make a special potion just for her. All he had to do was make sure it touched her skin and the spell would take an immediate effect.

Once he figured out where the sisters were headed he moved around them so he could cut them off. Now that he was in front of them and he and began walking back towards the sisters. He had a small bottle in his hand that contained the potion. The plan was to bump into Payton and spill it on her. He waited for the right time, when the two older ones weren't looking and stepped in front of Payton, knocking her hand out of Piper's and splashed the potion onto her arm. Her skin absorbed it immediately.

"Hey" Payton said. Piper and Prue looked at her and saw Drax.

"Sorry about that. It's so crowded." Drax said and kept walking until he knew it was safe to turn around and follow them. He needed to make sure the potion was taking effect before he reported back to Britteny.

Now Payton had a death grip on Piper's hand. Piper looked other at Payton and saw that she was watching her feet as they walked. Piper tapped Prue on the shoulder. When Prue looked back, Piper moved her head toward Payton. Prue looked at Payton. She frowned. She knew that posture well. Both of the sisters knew something was wrong.

"There's some food venders over here. Why don't we get something to drink?" Prue suggested. Payton didn't seem to hear her. But Piper gave a nod and they headed that way. "Payton," Prue said. Payton looked up. "Why don't you go get us a seat and Piper and I will get the drinks. Do you want a water or a juice?"

"Water, please." Payton replied.

"Okay sweetie." Prue said. Payton wandered over to the tables and sat down.

"Any ideas what this is about?" Prue asked.

"Not at all. She was fine until Paige tried to drag her onto the dance floor." Piper said.

"Hum" Prue said thinking. "I wonder if something triggered a premonition." Payton didn't get premonitions the way that Phoebe did. Her's were more of a feeling then a vision. Payton wasn't very sure about this power. She still couldn't decide if what she was feeling was a real warning or if she just felt uncomfortable about whatever situation she was in. This was the power that she wished had passed her by.

Prue ordered their drinks and was handed three bottles of water. When she turned around to head back to where Payton was she noticed that Payton had her head on the table. This made Prue's stomach drop. Prue and Piper hurried over to Payton.

Sitting down next to her, Prue put her hand on Payton's back and said "Payton, honey, are you alright?" When Payton picked her head up to look at her sisters they saw that she was as white as a ghost and her face was damp with sweat.

"Are you sick, sweetie?" Piper asked as she felt her forehead to see if she was running a fever.

"I just have a really bad feeling," Payton said almost crying. "I think something really bad is going to happen."

"Prue, she's burning up."

"Take a drink of water." Prue said taking the cap off the bottle and handing it to her. Payton took the water and drank.

"When did this bad feeling start?" Prue asked.

"It started when we left the drumming" Payton answered.

"Not when Paige tried to get you to go dance?" Piper asked.

Payton shook her head no. "I saw Ashley Johnson, and I didn't want her to make fun of me at school." That made perfect sense to Prue and Piper. That girl would do anything to make Payton feel bad.

Payton laid her head back down on the table. She felt like every ounce of energy was being drained out of her, and she was having a hard time thinking. Payton had never felt like this before. Not even when she had been so sick she had to go to the hospital.

Prue's phone buzzed with a text from Phoebe. She quickly texted her back. "Phoebe and Paige are heading over to the Magic Box booth. She said they met some people that work there. I told her we would meet them there." Prue told Piper. "Payton, let's go get Phoebe and Paige and then we can get you home."

"Okay" Payton said and stood up. She felt very off balance. The expo almost seemed to be swimming around her. As she took a step forward her legs started to give out. Before she could fall Prue and Piper had a hold of her.

"Maybe we should have them meet us here." Pure said to Piper.

"The booth is closer to the exit. I can carry her." Piper said

"Are you sure?" Prue asked. "She's not as little as she use to be."

"I'm sure. I still carry her all over the house." Piper said. She scoped Payton up into her arms. Payton laid her head on Piper's shoulder and was instantly asleep. Piper felt Payton's body relax into sleep. "Something definitely not right. She has never fallen asleep this fast."

"If you need a break let me know and I can carry her". Prue said. She looked at her baby sister and didn't like what she saw. Payton's hair was now soaked with sweat. She lead Piper through the crowd of people towards their sisters as fast as she could. Drax watched Piper carry Payton off into the crowd as Prue lead. Now he felt it was safe to report back that things were going as planned. He shimmered back to the underworld.

Britteny was pacing impatiently as she waited for Drax to return. "What's taking so long?" she said to no one in particular. "I do not like to be kept waiting." The lower level demons moved toward the door. They knew that when Britteny was like this she had a tendency to take it out on who and whatever was closest to her. She throw a fireball at the wall next to them and they all mashed together as tightly as they could.

Britteny stomped over to the demons and grabbed the closest one. "What's your name?"

"Seth, my queen" the demon stammered.

"Well Seth. I want you to go up there and see what's taking Drax so long."

Just then Drax shimmered into the lair. "My queen" he said going down on one knee.

Britteny let go of Seth and he fell into the others feeling relieved Britteny was no longer paying attention to him.

"It's about time Drax" Britteny yelled. "Tell me."

"The potion has taken effect. The fever is burning in the youngest. Her mind will be easy to turn." Drax said

"Good." Britteny said as she turned back to the other demons. "Now, l have made a vial of potion for each of you. You will each shimmer in around the perimeter of this building. You will drop the vial in front of the doors then shimmer back here. Do you understand?" All the demons gave nods.

"Drax, you will make sure the barrier is in place then join me. Once I know they cannot get away then we will confront the witches."


	4. Chapter 4

Phoebe looked down as her phone beeped in her hand. "Prue says they're on their way."

"Cool" Paige said. "I can't wait for them to meet these guys."

As they got those to the booth Xander could hear Anya talking to a customer. "Thank you for giving me your money." Anya was saying as they approached the booth. Xander smiled. He loved it when she tried so hard but still didn't get it. He went over to her and gave her a kiss.

"Xander! I'm working" Anya said embarrassed.

"Paige, Phoebe, this is Anya." Willow said

"Oh. Did you bring more people to give me money?" Anya asked excitedly.

"I guess they did." Phoebe said laughing.

"Don't mind her," Willow said. "She has no people skills."

Phoebe started looking around to see what they had for sale. Paige, Willow, and Tara were talking about the different types of magic. Paige was fascinated. All she had ever known about magic was in the the Book of Shadows. Willow and Tara had taught themselves magic. Tara's mom had practiced magic so it had just come natural to her. Willow, on the other hand, hadn't even thought magic was real until she met Buffy and started helping her fight vampires.

"Phoebe, Phoebe" Prue called from a few booths down. Phoebe looked up and waved to her. Phoebe's smile faded as she caught the look on Prue's face. She know something was wrong. Immediately started looking for Piper and Payton. Then she saw Piper heading her way, carrying Payton. She rushed over to her sisters.

Tara grabbed a chair and took the chair over to Piper. Piper set Payton into the chair and kept a hand on her so she wouldn't fall out of the chair. "I'll g-g-o get a water for her." Tara told Piper. Piper thanked her.

"What happened?" Phoebe asked. She reached out to touch Payton and as soon as she made contact a premonition was triggered. Willow noticed Phoebe's body go rigid.

"What is happening?" Willow asked Paige.

"She's having a premonition." Paige answered.

"Paige!" Piper said sternly.

"It's ok Piper. Willow and Tara are like us." Paige told her older sister as Phoebe came out of the premonition. Prue had a hand on Phoebe to steady her.

"Phoebe, tell them that these guys understand us." Paige said. Piper and Prue looked at her and she gave nod.

Having Phoebe give the okay Prue asked "What did you see?"

Phoebe told them that she saw a guy run into Payton and dump something on her. Then it flashed to woman that looked like she was casting a spell in the middle of the expo.

Britteny and her demons shimmered into the expo center as Prue and Piper were making their way to the Magic Box booth. She directed the demons to where they needed to be, then left Drax to make sure her wishes were met. Britteny could feel the Charmed Ones presence in the building. She cast a spell that would track the potion Drax had used on the youngest. She headed in the direction the spell was pulling her. As Britteny walked the crowd of people unknowingly moved out of her way.

Once she spotted the Charmed Ones she used a cloaking spell and moved into their group to hear what was being said. Phoebe was telling the others about her premonition. Britteny was pleased to hear that her whole plan had not been discovered. She could see the potion was working on the youngest. Piper was crouched down in front of her trying to get her to drink some water. Britteny decided to test out her control over Payton. She sent a thought to Payton and when Payton knocked Piper's hand away she knew she had control. This was going to be her Ace in the hole. Britteny glanced other to another booth and saw Drax pop his head out. She made her way other to him and pushed him out of sight. Then she de cloaked herself.

"Well," she said.

"The barrier is in place, my queen," he said giving a bow.

"Excellent".

Piper knelt in front of Payton. "Payton, honey." she said. Payton opened her eyes. Her eyes were glazed over, she seemed liked she was in some sort of trance. "I want you to drink some of this." Piper started to left the bottle to Payton's mouth. Payton slapped it away.

"Payton!" Paige said in a shocked voice. "Piper is trying to help you."

At the sound of Paige's voice Payton snapped out of the trance like state and began to cry. "I don't know why I did that. It felt like something made me do it. I'm sorry Piper."

Piper pulled her into a hug. The other sisters gathered around her telling her is it was okay, and that no one was mad at her.

"Do you still feel that way?" Prue asked. Payton shook her head no.

"Maybe she was just startled by Piper's movement. Her eyes weren't focused at all. I don't think she really understood what Piper had said to her." Phoebe offered as a suggestion. Phoebe put her hand on Payton's forehead. "This fever could be making her feel that way."

"It probably is. But if what was spilled on her is the cause of the fever, I bet there's something else going on as well." Prue said.

"It could be that whoever is behind this just wants Payton out of the way." Paige said.

Tara had been whispering something in Willow's ear and Willow gave a nod and said "That could what's happening."

The sisters looked over to Willow and Tara. "Go ahead sweetie. Tell them your thought." Willow said to Tara.

"Well, w-w-we have come across some potions that will w-w-weaken a person mentally so they are susceptible to mind control." Tara said.

"That has totally happened to me." Xander said. "Well, not a potion, but Dracula…" Xander stopped mid-sentence. Everyone looked towards him. He was gone. So was Anya. In fact, everyone that had been inside the expo center, except for the Charmed Ones, Willow, and Tara, were gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Britteny and Drax peaked around the booth to see the Charmed Ones looking around. They noticed that two other women were with them.

"Why didn't those two women disappear with the others?" Drax asked.

"They must be witches" Britteny answered.

"That might cause a problem" Drax said.

"They will not be as strong as the Charmed Ones. Once we have the Charmed Ones powers we will kill them and take their powers."

"What if their evil witches and are also after their powers?" Drax asked.

"If their evil, maybe I will let them live as my underlings. If they refuse, I will destroy them."

"As long as there's a plan" Drax said under his breath.

"Xander? Anya?" Willow called.

"Wwwwhere did everyone go?" Tara said. She had a death grip on Willow, afraid Willow would disappear as well.

"I took them" Britteny said stepping into sight. Drax followed close behind.

"Prue," Phoebe said, "that's the guy from my premonition."

"Who are you and what do you want?" Pure demanded.

"Who I am isn't important. But what I want is." Britteny replied.

"What have you done with everyone? And what did you do to our sister?" Piper demanded angrily.

"Well, everyone that was in the has been shifted into a different dimension. If you wish to save them you will give me your powers. As for your sister, if you wish to have her well and free from my control, you will give up your white lighter." Britteny said.

"Neither of those things will never happen." Prue said taking the defensive.

"Then all those people will lost forever and I will take Payton. She will do my bidding and be tortured."

"She would never do your bidding" Paige said.

"Is that so" Britteny replied. "Payton, come here". Payton stood up and started to shakily walking towards Britteny. Phoebe and Paige stepped in front of Payton, blocking her path.

"Payton, honey. Fight her". Phoebe said.

"Payton, why don't you conjure an energy ball to get them out of your way". Britteny said as if she was just giving a suggestion.

Payton looked at her sisters. Tears were falling from her eyes as she fought her moving hands that were starting to gather the energy she needed. They could all see her straining against the spell, but in her weakened state there wasn't much she could do.

"Please let me go" Payton said in a scared whisper. Saying this take the last remaining bit of control she had. Her eyes glazed over and her hands began to move smoothly making the energy ball bigger. As she moved towards her sisters in a graceful movement that even when in control of herself Payton never had.

Paige turned to Britteny and yelled "You've made your point. Now let her be!"

With a flick of her hand Payton's cleared and she looked at the energy ball in her hand that was fizzing out. Panic showed on her face. "Oh no. What did I do?" She said in a soft whisper.

"Payton" Piper started but before she could say any more Payton started to fall to the floor. All five sisters ran to Payton. Phoebe and Paige caught her before she hit the ground. They gently laid her down, and she curled up in a ball, shaking violently. Piper scooped her up into her arms and held Payton on her lap.

"You have two hours to meet my demands. If you do not give up your powers I will seal all those people in the other dimension. And if you do not hand over the white lighter, your sister will be mine, and she will not have a pleasant life. It's your choice." With that said Britteny and Drax shimmered out.

"Prue what are we going to do?" Paige asked.

"You can't give her your powers" Willow said. "There has to be another way".

"Mmmmaybe we could call Buffy and see if she could find anything out." Tara suggested.

"Buffy's not so good with the book part of monster hunting, sweetie. But if Giles wasn't in the building when she cast her spell maybe he could help." Willow said pulling out her phone. She dialed Giles' number and got a recording that said the number was out of the service area. "Damn" she said putting her phone down.

"Paige, I want you and Phoebe to orb home and see what you can find out this sorceress in the Book of Shadows." Prue said.

"On it." Phoebe said grabbing Paige's hand. Little bluish white lights surrounded them and they disappeared. A moment later they reappeared.

"What happened?" Prue asked.

"I can't orb out of the building." Paige told her.

"And when we tried the exit we got shocked" Phoebe said. "I think she's trapped us in here".

Prue got up from where here and Piper were sitting with Payton. She headed toward the exit. Paige, Phoebe, and Willow followed her. Tara crouched down next to Piper and said, "I think we have a blanket in one of the packing tubs if you would like it so you can lay her down."

"That would be great. Thank you" Piper said. Tara went off to find the blanket for them.

"Piper," Payton said in a weak voice.

"I've got you sweetie". Piper said.

"Please don't let me hurt any of you."

"Honey, you're not going to hurt anyone. We will get this figured out." Piper told her, trying to reassure her.

Tara came back from behind the booth. "I found two blankets and you can use my sweater for a pillow if you would like." Tara told Piper.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you." Tara laid down the first blanket next to Piper.

"Payton, honey, why don't you lay down and get some rest." Piper said.

"Don't leave me." Payton said very softly.

"I'll be right here sweetie and Prue should be back in a few minutes". Payton laid down and put her head on the sweater that Tara had balled up for her. Tara covered her up with the other blanket and sat down beside Piper. They both watched as Payton lay there shaking uncontrollably.

Tara looked at Piper and saw tears welling in her eyes. "We will do everything we can to help you beat this sorceress. Wwwwillow is a pretty powerful witch. Do you mind if I try something on your sister? It might help her relax so she can sleep". Tara said

"If you think you can help her, please do. I can't stand seeing her like this". Piper said.

Tara got up and went to one of the tables. After looking for a few seconds she found what she was looking for. She grabbed the small bottle and came back to Payton and Piper. She sat down next to Payton and gently touched her head. Payton jumped a little at the sudden touch that wasn't her sister's.

"Piper" Payton said panicking.

"I'm right here sweetie" Piper said taking her hand.

"Who…"

"This is…" Piper started to say and then realized she never had time to be introduced. She looked at Tara. "Umm"

"I'm Tara" Tara said.

"Payton, this is Tara. She's a friend. She's going to try to help you". Piper explained to Payton.

Piper nodded at Tara and she picked up Payton's head and put it onto her lap. She popped the small cork from the bottle and Piper could instantly smell lavender. But there was something else mixed with it that she couldn't pick out. Tara tipped the bottle so a small pool of oil was in her hand. She rubbed her hands together to spread the oil out. Then she gently placed her hands on Payton's forehead. With slow movements Tara worked the oil into Payton's forehead and temples.

Once the oil was spread on Payton, Tara placed her hands on the sides of Payton's head, closed her eyes and began mouthing something. Piper realized Tara was casting her own spell on her sister. This made Piper very uncomfortable. She was just about to tell Tara to stop when she noticed Payton's body relax and her breathing settled into a steady rhythm again.

"How did you get her to relax?" Piper asked Tara when she opened her eyes.

"I used lavender and sandalwood oils mixed together and then gave her some of my energy. The lavender helps relax people and the sandalwood helps conduct my energy to her. The energy boost should help her fight this spell more. I hope." Tara said shyly. "She should at least be able to rest now".

"That's amazing" Piper said in awe of Tara. She hadn't known that kind of magic was possible.

"I unfortunately can't do anything to help bring her fever down." Tara said looking down at the sleeping child in her lap.

"Making it so she rest is enough. How can I thank you?" Piper asked.

"I'm just happy I could help". Tara said.


	6. Chapter 6

As she walked towards the exit, Pure was in deep thought. She was worried about how they would save all of those people, but Payton was her main concern. With everything that spell was doing to her, that fever was Prue's biggest worry. She knew that even if they broke the spell if they didn't get her fever down soon it could leave damage. Prue was debating on calling Leo, but that would be playing into the Sorceress's hand. If Paige couldn't rob out, nine chances out ten Leo won't be able to either. But if Leo could heal Payton, even just a little, that might give Payton enough strength to fight off the spell.

"Prue, look out!" Phoebe and Paige yelled. But by the time Prue realized what they were saying she walked into an energy field that shocked her so much it sent her flying backwards. She landed on her back with a loud thud. The fall knocked the wind out of her.

"Oh, Prue" Phoebe said reaching down to help Pure up. She groaned as she took Phoebe's hand. "We tried to warn you."

"That was interesting" Willow said. The sisters turned to look at her. "I've never seen a spell that powerful that I couldn't sense." Willow started moving towards the door. She held her hand out as she tried to feel the magic of the spell. The palm of her hand had a slight glow as she worked her own magic. The sisters watched as Willow's hand touched the door. None of them had been able to get closer than five feet to the door without getting shocked. Willow gave the door a small push and it swung open. She glanced back at Prue, Phoebe and Paige. They just had shocked looks on their faces. Willow took a deep breath and stepped out the door. Once outside, she looked back in and saw the sisters cheering her. This changes everything. Willow came back in and Paige grabbed her and gave her a big hug.

"How did you know that would be able to get out" Paige asked.

"I had a haunch that if I couldn't sense the spell that it wouldn't affect me. it's only designed to keep you guys in" Willow said

"That makes sense. She expected everyone else to vanish with her spell." Pure said.

"This changes everything" Paige said.

"We need to get and let Piper know." Phoebe said.

As they started back, Phoebe grabbed Prue's arm. "Prue, I've been thinking about Payton. I thought about calling Leo, but was afraid if he could get in that he would be stuck. But now that we know Willow can get out, wouldn't there be a good chance that Leo would be able to, too?"

"I've been thinking that same thing, but I'm not sure it's worth the risk. There's a good chance that he wouldn't be able to heal Payton, and then if he can't, we have basically handed him to the sorceress. And I feel like she would have planned on us calling him to help Payton and to check to the book" Prue said.

"I hadn't thought if that" Phoebe said sounding defeated. But then she had a thought. "Willow could go check the book for us!"

"We'll talk more about it with Piper" Prue said. Phoebe nodded in agreement. This was definitely something the sisters had to decide together. If Leo came and something happened to him and Piper wasn't on board with them calling him, she might not forgive them. Leo is Piper's husband and very important to her. In fact, he's very important to all of them.

"Come on, guys!" Paige shouted from up ahead.

Prue and Phoebe jogged up to meet the others and they all headed back to The Magic Box booth.

Back at the booth Piper was pacing. Tara had gone to get some wet towels for Payton's forehead. Even though she seemed to be resting comfortably, Payton was wringing wet with sweat. Both Piper and Tara know something had to be done about the fever.

Piper was mumbling to herself. "Leo, I wish you were here. I don't know what to do." She put her face in her hands. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. Piper felt a warmth surround her. Through her fingers she saw the bluish lights as Leo robed in. As he materialized she put her head in his shoulder. He pulled her into a hug and held her. She let out a loud sob.

"It's okay, honey. I'm here" Leo said in almost a whisper.

"But you shouldn't be. This is part of the sorceress's plan. She wants us to hand you over to her". Piper told him.

"The Elders know the situation and sent me anyways" Leo said. "They said there is some kind of loophole in the spell."

"Does that mean you can get out of here?" Piper asked.

"I don't know" Leo replied.

"I f-f-found some towels in the concession stand" Tara said quietly as she walked towards them. She wasn't sure where this guy had come from, but he seemed to know Piper quit well.

Piper looked up from Leo's shoulder. She had forgotten about Tara.

"Thank you, Tara" Piper said, letting go of Leo. Tara handed Piper the coo, wet towels. "Tara, this is my husband, Leo. he is also our whitelighter."

"What's a whitelighter?" Tara asked.

"I'm kind of like a guardian angel for witches." Leo said as he walked over to where Payton was laying on the floor. He knelt down next to Payton.

"Do you think you can heal her?" Piper asked worriedly.

"We'll see" Leo replied. He placed his hands over her head. Tara starred as Leo's hands began to glow. Piper held her breath, hoping this would work. Things seemed to be working for a minute. Payton's body seemed to relax a little more and her breathing become steady. Then, out of nowhere Payton started screaming in pain. Leo tried to pull his hands away, but Payton grabbed him. Her eyes opened and stared at him. She sat up and smiled at Leo.

"Ah, look," she said in a voice that wasn't hers. "The whitelighter finally showed up." Sweat was pouring off of Payton and her body was shaking uncontrollably.

"Leave her alone." Piper yelled.

"Give me the whitelighter and I will." the voice said.

"NO!" Payton shouted in her own voice. She pushed Leo away from her and started screaming in pain again.

"Better make up your minds soon" the voice said. "Times ticking." And with that Payton fell back down to the floor. She curled up into a ball shaking and crying.

"What's going on?" Prue said running up to the booth.

"We heard a scream." Phoebe said.

"Leo, what are you doing here?" Paige asked.

"Who's Leo?" Willow asked.

Piper started to explain to Prue what happened, but Prue couldn't hear her over Paige trying to talk to Leo and Phoebe explaining to Willow who Leo was. Tara was kneeling by Payton listening to the confusion.

"P-p-please make them s-s-stop" Payton said very weakly to Tara.

"Enough!" Tara shouted. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Tara. She ducked her head down and quietly said "Please. It's bothering Payton and you're not getting away w-w-where talking over each other."

They realized she had a point. Nothing was going to get answered if they kept this up.


	7. Chapter 7

"She has a point" Pure said. "We're getting nowhere with everyone talking at once. So, Willow this is Piper's husband Leo."

"He's also our white lighter" Paige jumped in. Prue gave her a look and she mouthed sorry to her and let her oldest sister continue.

"Now what was the screaming about?" Pure asked Piper. Even though she had many questions about Leo being there, Payton's scream was the most important thing at the moment.

"Leo tried to heal Payton and I guess it triggered something. The Sorceress pushed her way into Payton and was talking through her. Payton fought her off." Piper explained.

"Leo, what are you doing here? Did Piper call you? Didn't the Elders tell you what was going on? That it's not safe?" Prue ask in rapid fire, not giving Leo any chance to answer.

While Leo was filling everyone else in, Tara focused her attention on Payton. Payton was still shaking and breathing very shallow. Tara dabbed Payton's face with the cool towel.

"Don't let Leo go with the Sorceress" Payton pleaded. "No matter what happens to me"

"I'll try my best. N-n-now you just need to rest, sweetie. Your sisters will fix this." Tara told her.

Payton's eyes suddenly rolled up into her head and she started to have convulsions.

"Piper!" Tara yelled holding onto Payton so her head wouldn't hit the floor.

Everyone turned to see what Tara was yelling about.

"Shit" Prue said running over to Payton. The others followed.

"Leo, what do we do?" Piper asked as she knelt next to her baby sister.

"Roll her onto her side. That will help her breathing." Leo directed. He didn't want to touch her again, for fear it might make it worse. "Try to keep her from hitting her head".

Prue and Piper gently rolled Payton on to her side while Tara keep Payton's head cradled in her lap.

"Leo, do something!" Paige shouted in fear. "Why aren't you helping her?" Phoebe took Paige in her arms and gave her a big hug to comfort her. Paige hide her face in her sister's shoulder and began to cry.

"I'm afraid if I try again it will only make it worse" Leo said sounding defeated. He hated having to watch Payton go through this. It broke his heart.

"Shhh…" Phoebe said, trying to comfort Paige. "It will be ok. Payton will be ok".

As Phoebe was telling Paige this, Payton's body seized for a few more seconds and then went limp. Tara gently wiped her head with the cool cloth she was still holding onto.

"Now what do we do, Leo?" Prue asked as she felt Payton's face. "How do we know if she's ok?"

Payton gave a soft moan and opened her eyes a tiny bit. "What happened?" she asked in a voice that was barely audible. "Did I hurt anyone?" Payton asked. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

"No baby, you didn't hurt anyone". Prue reassured her.

Leo grabbed a bottle of water that was setting on the table and handed it to Piper. "Try to get her to drink some of this before she falls asleep." He told his wife.

"Shouldn't we keep her awake?" Phoebe asked. "Isn't sleep bad after something like this?"

"No." Leo replied. "Her body is going to force her to sleep. It's no different than having the flu. The body needs to rest."

"Payton, sweetie, I need you to drink some water for me." Payton tried to sit up but the room started to spin and she fell back down. "Tara, can you help her sit up a little bit?" Piper asked. Tara nodded her head and slow raised Payton just high enough so she could get a drink. Payton greedily drank the water.

"Slow down baby. You don't need to make yourself sick". Prue told her. Payton slowed down. When the water was gone Tara laid Payton's head back down in her lap.

"Piper" Payton started, "don't let Leo go with her. He's more important…"

"He's no more important than you, sweetie. But we'll find another way" Piper told her. She met her sister's eyes and gave her a small smile. "We always do." Piper could see Payton was fighting sleep. "Payton, close your eyes. We've got you honey." And with that, Payton closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. After a few seconds Payton breathing become more regular and her body seemed to relax.

"How do we fix this?" Piper asked Leo as she started to cry. "We have to fix this."

"Piper" Prue said. "We have a way to get to the book."

"How? We're stuck in here, and Leo probably is now too" Piper said

"Willow can out" Paige blurted out. "We can send her to the house and get the book."

"The book can't leave the house unless one of us takes it." Piper said.

"No, but she could look this sorceress up and bring us whatever we need to vanquish her." Prue said.

"What if the book…" Piper started

"If she's a good witch, which I'm positive she is, the book will let her touch it." Phoebe said. "It's our only chance."

"I think this is the loophole the Elders were talking about," Leo said as he held Piper and tried to comfort her.

"If this is the p-p-plan we should go." Tara said. "The sorceress's deadline will be soon."

"Right." Prue said. She dug around in her bag and pulled out her keys. She handed them to Willow. She explained where her car was parked and that if they hit home in the navigation system it would take them right to the house. Prue walked them through where the book was at and how they could use it.

"We'll back as soon as possible." Willow told them. Then her and Tara ran off toward the exit.

"I hope this works," Prue said as she brushed hair out of Payton's face. Payton starting to moan in her sleep. "Shhh, baby, it's okay. We're all right here."

The sisters and Leo went to sit on the floor next to Payton and Prue. They sat in silence. Leo held Piper, Paige put her head on Phoebe's shoulder and Prue continued to stroke Payton's face, just like their mother used to do her when she was sick. Prue wished more than anything that mom and Grams were there with them. She couldn't tell the others that she was terrified that in the end of this, the fever could do some real damage to Payton or worse they could lose their baby sister.


	8. Chapter 8

As Willow and Tara approached the door Tara slowed her pace. Willow looked back at her. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Are you sure we can get out?" Tara asked, sounding scared. "Maybe it only worked for you because you have so much power."

"You have just as much power as I do." Willow said trying to comfort her. "But I don't think this spell holding them in has anything to do with power. If it did, we would be able to sense it, don't you think?" Tara nodded. "Do you feel something I don't?"

Tara shocked her head no. "I don't feel any magic around us."

"I think that the spell is linked to them and that's why they can't leave, but since the sorceress didn't expert other real magic users to be here. So, her magic is only affecting them."

"That m-m-makes sense." Tara said. She took a deep breath and said "okay, let's go."

Willow gave Tara a quick kiss and a hand squeeze and started towards the door again. Willow reached the door and pushed it open. Tara closed her eyes and ran through the door, Willow followed close behind. Once outside Tara took a deep breath. They headed toward the parking area where Prue said she had parked. Willow began pressing the panic button on Prue's keys.

"It's over there". Tara said pointing to the right.

Once in the car, Willow turned the GPS on and set it to take her to the Halliwell's house. As Willow drove down the highway she noticed Tara staring out the window looking sad. Willow reached over and patted Tara's leg.

"What's going through that pretty head of yours?"

Tara looked over at Willow. "I'm afraid this is going to be something we can't fix."

"We'll get Xander and Anya back."

"That's not it. I mean, yes I'm worried about Xander and Anya. But…" Tara trailed off and looked away.

"Talk to me sweetie."

"I'm afraid that even when we b-b-beat this sorceress that Payton will still have problems."

Willow looked at Tara questioningly. "That fever could really mess her up."

"I didn't think about that." Willow said. "So win or lose, the sisters still could lose a lot."

"Take the next exit." the GPS interrupted.

Willow took the exit and followed the directions to the Halliwell's street. She slowed down to a crawl so they wouldn't pass the house. The GPS blurted out that they had reached their destination.

"That must be it." Tara said, pointing to the house on the right.

Willow pulled into the driveway of an old Victorian house. They both took in the beautiful house for a moment.

"Wow. This house is amazing." Willow said in awe. "We don't have anything like this in Sunnydale.".

After a quick squeeze of hands, Willow and Tara get out of the car and head to the front door. As Willow raised the key to the lock, the door slowly opened on its own. Tara looked at Willow.

"I guess that means we're welcome to go in?" Willow said questioningly.

"I g-g-guess."

Willow took a tentative step into into the house. When nothing else happened, Tara and Willow ran to the stairs, and taking them two at a time, made their way to the attic.

When they got to the attic the first thing they saw was the podium with the Book of Shadows. It seemed to be glowing.

"Wow!" Willow said in awe.

"That is amazing." Tara stated.

Walking towards it, Willow asked "Can you feel the magic coming from that?"

Tara nodded in agreement. "I've never felt anything like this before."

"This thing is huge." Willow said as she started to flip through it.

"This is going to take forever to fine the sorceress." Tara said sounding defeated.

Just as Tara finished saying that the pages of the Book started flipping on their own. The girls stood there with their mouths open, watching. When the pages finally stilled, it was open to the sorceress. Willow and Tara looked at each other.

"Okay, then." Willow said looking at the page. Then she started to read aloud. "Sorceresses are witches that use dark magic. They are after as much power as they can get. They steal the powers of other witches. To vanquish a sorceress, first use the power stripping spell, then chant this spell.

"Let me write that down, then we can find the other spell." Tara said. She started looking around for paper and something to write with.

While Tara was looking for that, Willow held the place of that spell with one hand and started flipping through the book looking for the other spell. "This is amazing. Having all this information in one book is unbelievable. Wish we had something like this. It would make research so much quicker."

"It really would." Tara said coming back over. Willow flipped the pages back to the original page. Tara copied the chant down. When she was done, both girls stepped back from the Book, waiting to see if it would find the next spell for them.

Talking to the air Willow said, "So, we're ready for the next one." The pages began flipping on their own once more. When they stopped, Willow and Tara stepped back up to the Book and both said "thank you".

Willow scanned the page. "This one needs a potion." she said, giving Tara a worried look.

Tara started writing the spell down. When she got to the ingredients for the potion she said, "this shouldn't be to hard to make. Most of the ingredients are common. I would think the sisters would keep these stocked up since they're used for many different things."

"You know more about this then I do" Willow said.

"Let's go down to the kitchen and get this made so we can get back to the Expo center." Tara started to head for the stairs.

"Damn, you're hot when you take charge."

Once down in the kitchen, Willow and Tara started gathering what they needed to make the potion.

"Found the Mugwort." Willow said triumphantly.

"Good. I think that's the last thing we need." Tara said as she finished filling a pot with water. She brought the pot over to the stove on the kitchen island and turned in to high.

Tara began to measure the different ingredients out and pot them into the pot. Willow couldn't believe how much she still had to learn. She was good with magic but when it came to making potions, she usually needed Tara or Giles to help her. She couldn't understand why she had so much trouble making them. She had no problem mixing chemicals in science class. Willow felt this should be close to the same thing. It was just not something that was going to come easy to her.

Willow watched Tara drop some rosemary into the pot. As soon as it hit the water there was a bang and a puff of smoke came raising up into Tara's face.

"Does that mean something went wrong, or is it done?" Willow asked.

"Just means I have the right amount of everything." Tara explained.

"So how much longer should it take?" Willow asked. She was starting to get nervous. They had been gone for about an hour and the sorceress would be back soon demanding the sisters' powers.

"Just had to come to a boil" Tara said.

Ten minutes late the potion was bottled and the girls were in Prue's car heading back. 


End file.
